Designing a humanitarian relief network considering governmental and non-governmental operations under uncertainty

Abazari S. R., Jolai F., Aghsami A.

International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, vol.13, no.3, pp.1430-1452, 2022 (ESCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 13 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s13198-021-01488-y
  • Journal Name: International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, INSPEC
  • Page Numbers: pp.1430-1452
  • Keywords: Disruption, Humanitarian supply chains, Non-governmental and governmental organizations, Relief chain, Rescue teams, Uncertainty
  • Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Affiliated: No

Abstract

This study addresses a humanitarian supply chain network that includes locating relief centers, pre-positioning and distributing relief items, and providing medical treatment in affected regions to help people suffering. Also, the role of non-governmental organizations along with governmental organizations and disruption in relief centers is examined. The objective of the model is to minimize total costs. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear mathematical model. A two-stage mixed fuzzy-stochastic approach is developed to capture the uncertainty. To solve the model on a large scale, grasshopper optimization algorithm is utilized, and its performance is examined through computational experiments. To assess the applicability of the proposed model, it is applied to Tehran as a real case study. According to the numerical examples and sensitivity analysis, fruitful managerial insights are provided to help decision-makers increase relief operations' efficiency. The results indicate that non-governmental organizations' contribution significantly enhances the performance of the humanitarian supply chain while disruption has an adverse impact.